The last few days have been very intense, but more on that another time. There was no way I could even write a short report from my trip to Helsinki for the 2nd edition of Balticon, a local wargames convention with a large international player base. It was my first wargames convention abroad. Until now, I'd only attended similar events in Poland. I'm glad I chose Helsinki. We went there with our Wargameron team. It was both a team-building trip and a promotional one. Our convention, although the largest in Poland, still needs to convince the international community that Poland isn't the end of the world. We landed in Finland around noon on Friday, so we still had plenty of time to explore the city, grab some local food, visit the Moomin Shop, and enjoy a quiet evening with the eager convention attendees for a pint. On Saturday, April 18th, the proper event began, taking place in Suomenlinna, a fortress island steeped in fascinating historical themes. Access to the island is only possible by ferry, which is an added attraction. Upon arrival, it turned out that the convention, though quite small, had attracted several interesting foreign game designers and publishers. I hadn't made any appointments, so I gladly took advantage of the opportunity to play Brian Asklev's Baltic Empires a few times.The game proved to be a very enjoyable title, with the ability to play the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth being a major plus. We had a great team, so getting to know the game was a real joy. Brian also showed us the game he's working on: 1813: Napoleon's Struggle for Germany. It looks like it will be a successful sequel to the game about Napoleon's expedition to Moscow in 1812. A tournament was also held to test knowledge about games, the history of the fortress, and Finland. After returning ashore, we spent the evening with Wojciech Zalewski, designer and owner of Taktyka i Strategia, who was also at the convention. The second day was filled with more game prototypes. I played Brian Asklev's Thirty Years of Misery, which will soon be released by Vuca Games. It's a great title in the style of Academy Games, but much deeper, with more event cards, and a much more atmospheric feel. Finally, I managed to play The Halls of Montezuma under the guidance of Kevin Bertram from @fortcircle It's a truly great game, much more interesting and better than Shores of Tripolli. The convention was a great time for me. I managed to play some unreleased games, which is always a great value. I met the Spanish team from @SnafuDST, with whom I corresponded extensively during the release of Beresteczko 1651, designed by Krzysztof Dytczak. It was nice to see a guys from Three Crown Games, which has been visiting Poland regularly lately. Along the way, I had many interesting conversations with enthusiasts from various corners of Europe. It's a pity the time flew by so quickly. I hope I'll have the opportunity to attend Balticon again.